Aviano Air Base
Aviano AB in the current version with custom buildings at dawn. | ||||||||||
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Type | Military | |||||||||
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Owner | Aeronautica Militare Italiana; US Air Force (user) | |||||||||
City | Aviano, Pordenone, Italy | |||||||||
website | ||||||||||
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Scenery tile | e012n46 | |||||||||
TerraSync | Not yet |
Aviano Air Base (commonly wrote Aviano AB and improperly Aviano AFB) is a NATO base built in 1911 in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia_Giulia . It is located in the Aviano municipality, at the foot of the Carnic Pre-Alps (reason why local people calls it "Pedemontana"), at about 8 NM from Pordenone.
The Italian Air Force has administrative control of the base which hosts the U.S. Air Force 's 31st Fighter Wing .
The 31st FW (which commander is Brig. Gen. Barre Seguin) is assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe major command and the Third Air Force . It's the only U.S. fighter wing south of the Italian Alps. This strategic location makes the wing critical to operations in NATO's southern region. The 31st FW maintains two F-16 fighter squadrons, 555th Fighter Squadron "Triple Nickel" and the 510th Fighter Squadron "Buzzards" , allowing the wing to conduct offense and defensive combat air operations.
In peacetime, the 31st FW prepares for its combat role by maintaining aircraft and personnel in a high state of readiness.
History
Aviano Air Base is one of the oldest military airports in Italy, established by the Italian government in 1911, it was used as training base for Italian pilots and construction facility for aircraft parts. During WWI, Italy used the airfield in missions against the Austro-Hungarian and German armies. At that time, two Italian aviators, Captain Maurizio Pagliano and Lieutenant Luigi Gori, conducted an unauthorized, but heroic and successful, air raid on the Austrian naval yards in Pula, in what is now Croatia. In their honor, the base's name was officially changed to "Aeroporto Pagliano e Gori", in 1919. During the war the airfield was also overrun by the Austro-German army in the months between November 1917 to November 1918. Between the two wars the airfield was again used as a training base. In the WWII, both the Italian Air Force and the German Luftwaffe flew missions from it. British forces captured the base in 1945; they conducted air operations there up to 1947, when the Italian Air Force resumed operational use of the airport and resized it in the early 50s until the arrival of the US Air Force. In 1954, the US Government signed with the Italian Government an agreement for the joint use of the base which became NATO. In the years 1950-1990, Aviano housed in turns fighter squadrons, in support of the tasks assigned to NATO and deployments of the Air Force tasked with training in the use of weapons. In the end of August 1992, Hurricane Andrew swept across southern Florida, leaving extensive damage in its wake. Every building of Homestead AFB received some damage and many buildings were destroyed. The fighter squadrons evacuated most of the planes before the storm but were unable to return. In the aftermath, the secretary of defense recommended closure of the base (then used by the Air Force Reserve) and inactivating the 31st FW. To avoid losing the wing’s heritage and history as the highest scoring Army Air Force unit in the Mediterranean Theater in WWII, the impressive combat record in Vietnam and number of significant firsts they produced in the early years of the Air Force, the 31 FW was chosen to move rather than fade into obscurity. On April 1, 1994, the 31st Fighter Wing inactivated at Homestead AFB and subsequently activated at Aviano Air Base, Italy in place of the 401st Fighter Wing. Between the 1990s and 2005 and then in 2011, Aviano hosted various aircrafts for multiple operations in ex-Jugoslavia, Iraq and Lybia and deployed aircrafts in Iraq, Lybia, Afghanistan and (presently) in Turkey in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
Apart from the local F-16s, many U.S. planes arrive/set off to/from Aviano AB, like C-130/J, C-17 and a weekly Space-A charter flights from/to Ramstein Air Base and Baltimore.
Technical characteristics
Runway
The airport has only one runway (045°/225°), 2987 m long and 55 m wide. (Both runways 05 and 23 will have got two BAK-12 aircraft arresting systems for emergency landings and training in the beta version).
- Both directions are used for takeoffs (though runway 05 is much preferred).
- Runway 23 is not used a lot for landings (except when there is strong down wind), for visual approaches only.
- Runway 05 is suitable for all landings and is served by an ILS system (frequency: 390.00 MHz).
Layout
- Area A1 contains a few of Aviano's support functions (such as the library and chapel) and the Department of Defense Dependents School for the base population's children.
- Area A2 contains a fitness centers, dining facility, dormitories, thrift shop and a fire department.
- Area C contains most of the 31st Civil Engineer Squadron's facilities.
- Area D contains a soccer field and picnic area.
- Area E contains AFN, military working dog kennels and Air Force Office of Special Investigations detachment. The Italian Carabinieri (military police) also have their base headquarters in this area.
- Area F is the flightline area, and is the largest area in Aviano. The complex contains the active runway and taxiways and most of the base's facilities like the AMC passenger terminal, the legal office and the Commissary.
The base is also full of aprons and hangars of different sizes for fighters and also to host big aircrafts like the 747 or the C-17 Globemaster III.
Communications
FGCom frequencies
(The following table takes into account some frequencies available only in the current development version.)
ATIS | 129.300 |
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TWR | 142.050 |
GND | 120.100 |
CLNC DEL | 120.100 |
APP | 120.120 |
APP 2 | 120.125 |
DEP | 142.350 |
AVI | 111X, | 00 NM |
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AVI | 390, | 046.0 deg, | 9.5 NM |
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Custom scenery
J Maverick 16 is currently redesigning the airport so that the scenery is as faithful as possible to the real air base. The airport will be submitted for inclusion in the international scenery as soon as the ground layout and the buildings are done; further updates (more buildings, boudaries, decorations...) will be released via TerraSync. A first preview of the beta can be found on GitHub (unused). As of 2015/08, a first version is nearly ready for Terragear testing, a first custom scenery pack will be available in 2016.
Progress
The following table takes into account improvements available only in the current development version.
ATC services (USAF_AV)
ATC service is provided with OpenRadar regularly on weekends and weekdays, using also Mumble and FGCom (sometimes also FGUK's Teamspeak channel) - check Lenny's website for the exact times and dates, but usually on Sunday evenings and Tuesdays evenings. For further informations about LIPA, you can download the chart on the right, use SkyVector and GCMAP. The air base is also included in the NIATCA project. To avoid pilot/ATC misunderstandings see the minimum list of best practices. Remember that this is a military American air base and not a civilian airport, with different rules and procedures so don't simulate an emergency or found an excuse to land/take-off from Aviano only because it is the only one controlled in that moment, especially for airliners (e.g. (and these ones all happened to me) terrorists on board, engine failure, passenger with cardiac arrest, President on board, very top secret mission, ...).
Aviano Open Days Week-end
Aviano Open Days Week-end will be a mega-event where every airman will be able to perform flights with any type of aircraft (from non-U.S. fighters to big airliners) during a whole week-end. ATC will be provided every day in 3-hour intervals (followed by 1 or 2 hours of free flying) from approximately 07:00 to 20:00 UTC time, with the possibility of having two towers controlling in the same time or replacing USAF_AV. Also airshows (one will be planned by FGUK) will be expected. Communications will happen on the MPChat, Mumble, Teamspeak and FGCom.
Screenshot gallery of LIPA
WED development
WED screenshot of Aviano before the developement
Screenshot of WED after the developing
WED screenshot after development
Old layout version
- Error creating thumbnail: File missing
(old) Tower view of LIPA in winter with traffic
F-15 ready for take-off from rwy 05
A Boeing 747-8i parked in the AMC apron by evening with custom buildings
F-16 taxiing to parking after landing on rwy 05 with home livery
New layout version
...
The Aviano AB Livery Pack for F-16CJ
The Aviano Air Base Livery Pack is a set of 10 USAF liveries used by squadrons in the base for the General Dynamics F-16CJ Fighting Falcon of FGUK created by Gary Brown and requested by J Maverick 16. List of liveries, development and preview from FGUK available here; from the FGForum here.